Dear HIFA colleagues,
Please review and comment on the updated HIFA Strategy 2022-2024. The previous version was published in October 2021. Since then the HIFA Steering Group have agreed on a few small but significant changes. Our #1 strategic shift was previously described as 'Convene key stakeholders to accelerate progress towards universal access to reliable healthcare information'. The new version is more specific: 'Convene key stakeholders to develop a Global Action Plan on Universal Access to Reliable Healthcare Information'.
A high-level Global Action Plan would complement existing WHO-led plans such as the recent and transformative Global Patient Safety Action Plan 2021-2030. It would focus the efforts of the major players on how to improve the availability and use of reliable healthcare information. To be clear, there is as yet no formal agreement from WHO or any other major organisation to develop such a plan. Our first step would be to assess the feasibility of doing so, learning from our patient safety colleagues and looking also at other options to accelerate progress towards healthcare information for all.
HIFA is in a stronger position than ever to help make this happen. We have more than 20,000 members and 440 organisations worldwide committed to the HIFA Vision; the British Medical Association and World Medical Association have adopted healthcare information for all as official policy (2015, 2019); and in 2022 the World Health Organization approved Global Healthcare Information Network/HIFA as a non-governmental organisation in official relations.
To drive this forward and implement the Strategy in full, HIFA needs £140k (US$160k) per year. This would support all our activities: two full-time staff equivalents, 6 global health forums, 19 projects, country representatives, social media team, HIFA Voices database, advocacy programme, secretariat...). It would also give us the capacity we need to deliver on our 3-year collaboration plan with WHO, agreed at the time of our entry into official relations.
Our current income is only £50k (US$60k). We have only one-and-a-half staff (me and Clare Watts, our part-time administrator). We need an additional £85k (US$100k) per year to implement our strategy, fund our 3-year collaboration with WHO, and reach our full potential. We welcome any suggestions and help you can give.
Read the updated Strategy: https://www.hifa.org/sites/default/files/other_publications_uploads/HIFA...
I invite you to share your thoughts on HIFA: hifa@hifaforums.org
or you can contact me direct: neil@hifa.org
With thanks for your support, Neil
Neil Pakenham-Walsh, Global Coordinator HIFA, www.hifa.org neil@hifa.org
Working in official relations with WHO
